Residency Bill

When draft proposals for a Residency Bill were released for
consultation
some two years ago, Mec Vannin did not waste any time by making
submissions.
The law, if passed, will simply be an impossibly complex and unwieldy
administrative
nightmare that will not address the fundamental issue: Who has a right
to live here?

That question is decided, and will continue to be
decided, by the UK
Home Office. All the proposed legislation will do is mean that Manx
people,
along with all the rest, will have to go through a clumsy
administrative
process every time we move address. Given the fact that an
indeterminate
number of people are already living in our country under alia, either
to
to escape justice in there own country, to wrongly take advantage of
our
country or both, it will be a fiasco.

There is only one answer: Manx Citizenship
acquired by birth, association
or naturalisation, just the same as any other country.

Lieutenant Governor

In the wake of the appointment of the new Lieutenant Governor, Mec
Vannin
has written to the Chief Minister asking him to have the situation
properly
addressed. The text of the letter is reproduced below. Mr Gelling has
responded
by passing the letter to Tynwald's Constitutional Committee. Since The
will of Tynwald was clearly ignored in relation to this matter and the
UK Home Office continues to demonstrate its total contempt for our
entitlement
for self-government, he may as well have passed it straight to the
waste
paper bin and cut out the middle man. Until the central figures in Manx
politics realise what they are supposed to be doing (running a
country),
Mannin is forever to be consigned to being, in reality, a
constitutional
anomaly of English regional government.

Dear Mr Gelling ...

Dear Mr Gelling

The recent controversy surrounding the appointment
of the Lieutenant
Governor serves yet again to demonstrate that we are, irrespective of
any
claims to the contrary by any party, a mere colony of the UK which, in
turn, increasingly means England. This is a deplorable situation which
cannot be accepted by any body claiming the title "government."

Though understandable on one hand, those who
advocate the appointment
of a Manx person to the position have essentially missed the point: The
Lieutenant Governor is the UK's representative, here at the UK's
bidding
to do the UK's work. Any quaint nonsense about being the Lord of Mann's
representative is just that: Nonsense. This country is ultimately
administered
by the UK Home Office for the UK's ultimate benefit and any Manx person
in the role will be called upon to act in a manner that is a betrayal
of
their own people and country. The Lieutenant Governor is not simply a
titular
role and this fact was driven home by the Lieutenant Governor's role in
maintaining a matter of national importance (the "Edwards Review") as
secret
from the Manx government.

Until such time as this country has reacquired its
rightful independence
from the colonising power, the concept of democracy incontrovertibly
dictates
that we should have a representative of Mannin in Westminster, not a
representative
of Westminster in Mannin.

To this end, we call upon you to use your position
and influence to
properly direct the development the Manx government into a legally
recognisable
constitutional reality. A logical step would be to have the position of
Lieutenant Governor scrapped and replaced by a Manx Envoy to
Westminster.

OECD

The Manx government is performing somersaults over the news that the
OECD
is expected to remove the Isle of Man from its blacklist of
non-cooperative
jurisdictions.

The blacklisting was a result of Manx law
permitting third party trading
without verification of source i.e. approved operations and
jurisdictions
could take in proceeds from non-approved sources and transfer it into
Isle
of Man accounts without question.

The Isle of Man government is bending over
backwards to accommodate
the OECD's Financial Action Task Force (FATF) dictions on regulation in
what is now the largest single element of our economy but FATF / OECD
is
only one element of the increasing loss of government power. Reciprocal
agreements with the UK (and consequently Europe) mean that the only
real
economic control left in the hands of the Manx government is income
tax.
Exactly as predicted by Mec Vannin seven years ago, the EU is now
clamping
down on "tax anomalies." The standard government line is that the EU
has
no control over our income tax but it doesn't need to: Protocol Three
does
not cover financial transactions and so Europe can erect barriers if it
desires. Despite previous EU denials in regards of income tax
harmonisation,
that is now the objective.

The implications of the proposed income tax cuts
were outlined in the
last issue of Yn Pabyr Seyr.

Quality of Life

There is little point in me standing here and lecturing you all on the
ills brought upon the Manx nation by a government that has turned its
back
on the Manx people. We are all aware of that and it would be hard for
me
to say anything new in that respect.

I also think that Phil's oration reflects the
feelings of many Manx
people I speak to - a feeling of defeat and irreparable damage, a
feeling
that it is impossible to fight a government that has used policies that
have resulted in a genocidal destruction of the Manx nation. This
society
has changed and not for the better. That is a direct result of
government
policy but exactly who is making those policies?

Who was successfully elected on a policy that
said, "we will swamp the
Manx people with immigration and if Manx people are driven out because
they can't afford housing, then it's tough." The answer is not a single
one so who is making these decisions? Who advised Richard Corkill to
drop
tax rates to encourage even more tax-dodgers to flood our country? Why
does the government refuse to disclose a target for population? Current
government documents talk in terms of 100,000. That essentially means
20,000
new residents. That means another Douglas and we know what will happen
when that figure is reached - it won't be enough and it will move
towards
150,000 and no matter what, the views of the Manx people will not
count.

The Quality of Life Survey of ten years ago
clearly revealed that the
Manx people did not want this substantial population growth yet the
governments
since that time have pushed the population way past the arbitrarily
chosen
figure of 75,000 and who is deciding these policies?

The real policy makers in this country are
faceless entities that manipulate
the government to their own ends. The UK is one of them. The finance
industry
is another. Estate agents and developers are others. We should not be
afraid
to call those who manipulate our government for their own ends our
enemies.
Nor should we be afraid to call those Manx people who collaborate with
them traitors.

I call upon each and every member of Tynwald
today, the start of a new
millennium, to make it their business to ensure that the policy of
growth
for growth's sake, the policies that minoritise and disenfranchise the
Manx people are overturned or face the charge: Traitor!

Dandara can cover this island in houses and it
will not address the
housing crisis - it will just make it easier for more people to flood
in
from elsewhere but that's what the manipulators of government want. The
estate agents will love it, which brings me to the subject of David
Creane,
whose attitude epitomises all that is obscene about a certain type of
immigrant.
If he doesn't like the idea of Manx people having a say in planning, he
should leave. We didn't invite him here and we are not asking him to
stay.

More broadly, we should never be afraid to say to
anybody who comes
into this island and disrespects the Manx people that they are more
than
welcome to leave. Manx is not a tax-status. Manx is not a residential
status.
Manx is not having a work-permit for five years.

I can understand the sense of defeat and
hopelessness experienced by
many Manx people, old and young, but I refuse to succumb to it. Many
non-Manx
people living here are now openly claiming that our minoritised status
removes our right to primary consideration. I will say this to that
sort
of person: As long as this country has one Manx person left in it, then
it is nobody else's.

Work permits

Mec Vannin is currently investigating allegations that the film
industry
in Mannin is ignoring work-permit regulations. Responses from Industry
Minister David North to our queries indicate that there is no real
desire
to uphold the law of the land.

This problem is not confined to the film industry,
of course, and it
is patently obvious that the work-permit system is in a state of
collapse.
People are working without permits, they are making false declarations
and the work-permit committee is under pressure to let applications go
through "on the nod."

The government should have taken the opportunity
presented by the current
economic conditions to drive wages and opportunities up for Manx
people.
It is a damning reflection upon successive governments that very
capable
Manx people have eventually been driven out of their own country due to
failure to achieve proper recognition for their abilities only to be
replaced
by those who, if their abilities matched their CVs, would not be
bothering
with the Isle of Man.

It suits the government's policies to flood our
country with transient
labour as it keeps the Manx "down". That is the ethos of colonial
government
and the "Manx" government is, officially, a British Colonial
government.

Manxmen need not apply

Recently retired Deputy Chief Constable Alan Cretney, in keeping with
all
his predecessors, had to be able to perform the job of Chief Constable
whenever the incumbent was not available to do so. In other words, he
had
to be competent to be a Chief Constable. Despite this, and again like
his
predecessors, when the opportunity arose for him to fill the job to
which
he was deputy, he was ignored. He wasn't passed over in favour of what
may have been considered a better candidate from within our force, he
was
passed over in favour of someone from entirely outside the Island,
whose
knowledge of the Island was limited, and who had not acted in a
comparable
role to Mr. Cretney.

Further to this, the successful applicant had, at
the time of his appointment,
decided to quit policing to go into "consultancy." This raises the
question
of motivation. No-one can criticise a person who believes that their
life
and career is best furthered by leaving the police but what selection
panel
would consider such a person as best candidate for a role of far
greater
authority to which they had previously served?

The role of Chief Constable must be just that, a
Chief of Police whose
life's work is dedicated to policing. "Managerialism" is not
appropriate
to many occupations and policing is one of them. Mr. Culverhouse's
buzz-words
and phrases and playing with image may be (arguably) good for public
profile,
but is it improving policing?

Mr. Culverhouse aside, the episode firmly
re-iterates what has been
said for many years an all walks of higher employment in Mannin:
Manxmen
need not apply.

The Consultants

And God opened his window, and reached out
and pointed down with a single, wrinkled finger.

And a thunderbolt fell to the earth
and hit the Chief Minister on the forehead
just as he was about to say something.

And suddenly the Chief Minister was a changed man.
And the Speaker of Tynwald looked up from his
lingerie catalogue and said:
'Yes, Mr Gelling.'

And the Chief Minister said:

'I would like to say, Mr Speaker, that,
by the end of this decade
we shall put a Manxman on the Moon.'

And everyone was amazed.
And the Isle of Man Examiner had the headline:
Manxman to be put on moon.
And the Manx Independent had the headline:
Man found pissing in sink.
And the Courier had the headline
Shoprite prices lower than ever.

And God fiddled with the catch on another window.
And Gabriel said:
'Who let him out of bed?'
But nobody knew.

And the civil servants got together and said:
'Ah-ha. The Moon.
What we need are the very best consultants
for this job.
There's my nephew Jim in Walsall.
And I have a sister in law in Baltimore
whose brother knows something about space.'

And the consultants arrived on the Island,
and then more consultants, and everyone said
'Where are we going to put them.'

And the President of Tynwald said:
'I know of some holiday cottages in Maughold.'

And the inspector for
counting livestock more than once
and other hill-farming subsidies said:
'Who let him out of bed?'
But nobody knew.

And the consultants asked
'What do you want us to do?'
And they were given several reams
of paper and told:

'We want you to write a report.'
'What do you want in the report?'
'Well, start with your credentials
and then itemize your expenses so far.'

'Do you not want us
to suggest a site for the launching pad?'

And the MLC’s looked hurriedly
at the civil service.
And the senior civil servants said
'Don't worry about that bit.'
and then quietly drew straws.

And after much deliberation, they said:
'We have chosen Braddan for the project,
which will be code-named "Up Yours Buster"
Obviously,
in order to accommodate the vast workforce necessary to
complete this prestigious project,
we will also need to build
5000 first time buyer homes
and to widen a few roads.'

And the road widening began immediately
without consultation
for some reason, in Abbeylands.

And the consultants said
'What shall we do now?
Shall we help with the rocket?'

And the Treasury Minister
shook his head and said:

'We have negotiated the purchase
of a retired SS20 missile
from a businessmen in Minsk -
a well respected dealer
who let us have it for a snip
in exchange for some
Offshore financial services.'

'What shall we do then?'
'Why don't you to write that report!'
'What do you want in the report?'
'Well, use your imagination.'

So the Consultants used their imaginations,
then phoned up the Chief Minister's Office.

'We have finished our report.'
'I'm sorry but there's no one here
at the moment.
Can I take a message?'

They phoned up
The Department of Local Government.
'We have finished our report.'
'I'm sorry but the Minister is in a meeting.'

And so the Consultants submitted
their four inch thick report
as directed by the bylaw enforcement officer
to the recycling bins outside B and Q,
and then posted their bill to the treasury.

And the treasury passed the bill to the Chief
Minister.
And the Chief Minister passed it back to the treasury
and said:
'Because of gross overspending in the consultancy stage
the mission will now be a hot air balloon
carrying a small dog.'

And the next day Manx radio received
a record fourteen phone calls, including one
fifteen minute call from the wife of an MLC
protesting at the cruelty of using a battery dog
in an airborne no-escape balloon situation.

And so the balloon was shelved,
and the dog was sent back to Ard Jerkyll
and the civil servants sighed with relief because
thousands of houses had now been scheduled,
and nobody had even noticed.

Gabriel gave God a large sedative
Then waved his finger and said:
'Have we been going walk-about again?'
And he walked over to the window
and quietly closed it.

Destroying the Manx Nation

Although we are probably now at the peak of the global boom which
has resulted in further massive damage to our fragile island, Tynwald
has
ensured that, short of total economic collapse, the destruction of the
Manx nation will continue apace. The tax measures announced by Mr.
Richard
Corkill, Treasury Minister, have one intention and one intention only:
To flood our island with tax-dodgers (as if it isn't already). There
are
only two things preventing the current flood from becoming a dam-burst,
and that is the extortionate cost of housing which the government
pointedly
refuses to address (current house prices are on southern England levels
and set to rise) and the fact that the tax-incentives previously eroded
by successive English governments are not yet in place. The government
is supposed to be here to represent the Manx people. Consequently, they
should ensure that the Manx people can afford houses no matter what the
free market price was. That, of course, would be against the policy
destroying
the Manx Nation.